A Helping Hand
by 2sidedstoryteller29995
Summary: Hugo is worried about the Sorting too. He's just worried about Lucy, rather than himself. Families have to stick together. Lucy needs help and that's exactly what he's going to give her.


"_But if it matters to you, you'll be able to choose Gryffindor over Slytherin. The Sorting Hat takes your choice into account."- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows _

I woke up on the 1st of September with a smile on my face. As I made my bed, packed my trunk, and washed the breakfast things, I was fully aware that it was the last time. As I crossed through the barrier between Platforms 9 and 10 at King's Cross, I savoured the feeling that I got from having done so for the first time.

There was sense of excitement in the air. Looking around at all the other students sent a tingle down my spine. With every passing moment I took a step closer to the heart of the magic; Hogwarts.

We were the last to arrive. Lily, Roxie, and Lucy were already there. I let mum fuss over me for a little while, before kissing me. I hugged my Dad, before starting to follow Roxie onto the train.

I heard a noise behind me and unable to help myself, turned back for one last look. It hit me then. _I'm off to Hogwarts. _I was ready. I could look after myself. I was responsible.

Moreover, without knowing it I had somehow become responsible for Lucy too.

X

There were four of us born in the same year. Lucy is the eldest- born in March. Roxanne is in the middle- her birthday is the 1st of May. Lily is older than I am by two weeks. Technically, she wasn't supposed to born until the middle of October, but she was arrived anyway. That's Lily for you.

Lucy is the eldest of our little group, but you would not know it by looking at her. I do not know all that much about clothes, but even I could tell you she dresses childishly. You can tell that her Mum is in charge when it comes to shopping, it's the same for all of us, but in her case it was particularly obvious.

We're too young to wear robes all the time and coming into King's Cross meant we had to dress like Muggles. Uncle Percy works at the Ministry, so you wouldn't catch them breaking the Statute of Secrecy. On top of that, Aunt Audrey is a Muggle, so they have no problem fitting in. She was well dressed, but she was also dressed childishly. She wore a cream dress with navy buttons down the font and a bow tied at the front. It would have been fine, if it wasn't for the cardigan and the shoes. The cardigan had been hand-knitted by her mother. It was navy, sewn onto each pocket, was the face of a cat, with its cream fur and little pink tongue.

I just thought it was a bit much.

She wore navy patent leather shoes. They would not have been too bad, if it was not for the polka dot bows.

I caught sight of all this as I turned back. I took a step back towards the group, letting my gaze sweep over the rest of the group before settling on her again.

Roxie had chosen a green t-shirt underneath a hooded sweatshirt covered in symbols. She had on her beloved three- quarter lengths and had on a well-worn pair of green trainers. She looked confident and at ease, leaning out the window, asking us to join her.

I saw Lily too. She was already wearing her uniform. The white button down shirt visible under her open robe, was freshly pressed. She had chosen the V-neck jumper, under which you could see her black tie. There was no gap between the knee length skirt and the black stockings. On her feet she wore black leather boots.

She looked good. She looked as though she was born to wear the uniform. I suppose she was. We all were.

X

I had already done it by the time I realised. I moved silently forward and held out my hand. She got one last hug from both her parents. Then, she let go of them and held onto me instead.

As I felt her hand in mine, something struck me. I've held hands with other children before; but never like this. In Year Two , we went on a nature walk in the local park. We lined up behind Miss Edwards in twos. We had to promise to help our partner's hand, to stick with them and to stick with the group. Looking back, the way she said it made it seem almost as though we were relying on our partner to survive out in the wilds. Obviously, we weren't but that's how it felt at the time.

Sometimes I hold Lily's hand too. When I do, I have to hold very tightly. At first, she was afraid I'd let her fall, but now she trusts me. She knows that I will be there for her.

Lucy knows that too, but with her, it is different. She does not rely on me like Lily does, not in a physical sense but she relies on me just the same. If anything, she relies on me more. She knows I am the only one she has.

X

I don't exactly know when it started. She has been the same way for as long as I can remember. Mum always said that when we were babies, Lucy took after Roxie. Roxie was the boisterous one, the pioneer. Though she was not the eldest she would always be the first learn to do something new.

Lucy had always wanted to do what her older cousin did, although she did not always succeed. She was always more cautious than Roxie. She would try very hard to keep up, but was usually slower at reaching her milestones. By the time she had mastered the latest one, I would be just catching on. So, in our infancy we explored together. As we got older, this pattern continued. Wherever I was, Lucy was nearby. She was like my shadow.

At times, it was annoying, but I am used to it now. I consider her a friend, as well as family. More than that, I consider her my responsibility.

X

Roxie looked as though she belonged on the train.

I reckon though, that underneath it all, she was as nervous. You just can't see it. She's lucky really, because of her skin tone she doesn't really go pale when she's nervous. Lucy, on the other hand looked deathly pale.

Her pallor was made emphasised by the fact that her hair was tied back in braids. I would never understand girls and their obsession with their hair. I didn't even know if she liked it that way, or if her mum did it like that and she didn't think to tell that she wanted it done a different way. Knowing her, it was probably the latter.

Lulu takes after her mother in terms of her looks. Aunty Audrey's hair is chestnut. Lulu is a brunette too, though she is more of a mousy colour. They all take after their mothers in terms of looks; Roxanne and Lily too.

When Lily walked in, you could see that she too had a wan appearance. Her brothers who carried her luggage soon followed her. The dark circles under her eyes told a story of their own. _She hadn't slept well the night before. _I just hoped it was because of her excitement. When I looked into her big brown eyes, I saw that they were brimming with tears.

I watched as my cousin, climbed up and started to wave out to her parents. As the train began to move, she turned back to us I saw that the tears which had threatened to spill over earlier were streaming down her face.

Albus stepped in, producing a handkerchief so she could wipe her eyes. Albus and James have always been good to her. She is their only sister, not to mention the youngest and on top of that she has a physical disability. She often needed help and they gave it without complaint.

Rose called in too. For once in her life, she fussed over me a little bit, checking that I was okay. She's always been rather protective when it comes to family. Before turning to go, she told she would be further down the train.

I was to call her if I needed anything.

I did not think I would though. I was fine, I really was, but glancing over at Lucy, I saw that I could not say the same for her. I was glad that Albus and Rose left when they did. I knew she wouldn't want anyone to see in such a state Lily was dabbing at her eyes at that point, laughing it off, and calling them tears of joy. She had however, set Lulu off and within moments she was a snivelling mess; red eyes, runny nose, hiccupping, wailing- the whole lot.

I fumbled in my jacket pocket for a tissue, patting her gently on the back. Lily didn't really say anything, though she looked rather apologetic. Roxie, she was a different story.

'What are you crying for?' She wondered. Her did not sound concerned, only annoyed.

I hopped to God that Lulu had not heard her. For a little while, just breathing was difficult. There was no way she would be able to answer back. Then, the wailing, eventually died down to be replaced by sniffling. Then that stopped too. After dabbing at her eyes sufficiently, she raised her eyes.

It was very clear that she had heard Roxie's words. She was upset, that much was obvious. She was trembling, but not with shock. Anger was the only thing visible in her eyes. You could see it in the way they flashed and you could hear it in her voice.

'It's easy for you not to! I'm not brave. I don't know where I'm going when I get to Hogwarts. I have a right to be scared!'

Roxanne looked taken aback. I think we all were. I've known Lucy all my life and I can't remember her ever raising her voice to any of us.

'I'm sorry,' Roxie mumbled, 'I just thought...' She did not finish. Instead, she went quiet. She did not speak for a while. Eventually, she whispered. 'Cry if you want, yell if you want, just promise me you won't keep it bottled up, okay?' Now she looked not only apologetic, but also worried.

Seeing this, Lucy's face softened considerably. She nodded. 'I promise.'

X

Roxanne never said what she thought. She did not need to. We were all thinking along the same lines.

_I just thought you would be glad to be shot of them. _

We all knew that she would be better off without her sister. Molly Grace Weasley considered herself many things. Primarily, she was a lady and a leading one at that. She was a Ravenclaw and top of her year at Hogwarts. Their father spoke proudly of her results and no one had any doubt that she would ace her OWLs in the coming year. This year, she had been made Prefect, which meant she was even more pompous than usual.

Prefects have lots of duties and her parents were always harping on about how responsible she was. She was surely out there now, patrolling the corridors and helping the other incoming First Years. Yet, she didn't call in to see how her sister was doing, not even so much as once, throughout the whole journey. She knew very well how scared Lulu was and she did nothing to help her.

I was worried about the Sorting too. I was just more worried about Lucy than I was about myself.

X

Lucy was not especially brave. She was something of a scardy-cat.

Funny I should say that really, because she is afraid of cats. Not just big cats, like the sort you'd meet in a jungle, but of little cats. It wasn't always like that of course, she used to like them just fine. In fact, she loved them. Hence the reason why her mother had sewn cat faces on her cardigan pockets.

It all started back when Molly was going into First Year at Hogwarts. When they were little, I could always remember Lucy and Molly wanting a pet of their own. What they would have liked most of all was a kitten. The only problem was, Percy wasn't exactly a fan of pets. According to him they were too messy and noisy.

Her mother had been on her side and together they had convinced her father to let her have a pet at Hogwarts. Over at my house that afternoon while playing with our cat Max, she chattered on about it. Later that evening, she went home all excited to see the new arrival.

She was, I'm sorry to say, in for a nasty shock. As my Grandmum would say, the creature was not really a cat at all. It was the devil incarnate. It was evil. It tormented her constantly. The next day she was in tears. As she wept, she choked out the story of how it had left a deep gash in her arm, the first time she came within two feet of it.

It had been an unprovoked attack. Molly reasoned that, she had probably had been upsetting him; pulling on his tail or something. She hadn't been doing anything, not even touching him. He torments her to this day, hissing, yowling, clawing and scratching at her whenever possible.

When Lucy was younger, she was afraid of the dark. Her Mum helped her get over it. She gave her a stuffed cat. She slept with him for almost four years. However, soon after his arrival Puss put a stop to that. He dug his claws in and ripped off his head. She was understandably very upset.

Molly didn't even apologise for what happened. She thought it was a good thing it happened because 'she's too old to still be sleeping with cuddly toys.'

Lucy isn't afraid of the dark anymore, but she is still afraid of that cat. She sleeps with one eye open when he's around and frankly I don't blame her.

X

If there is one thing I would say about her, it's that she is determined.

She tries so hard, but she always ends up failing.

She tries to be like her sister.

I can't say that she's all that smart either. I wish she were. I wish she realised that she is better than she is by far.

X

After some time it was necessary to change into our robes. As I got up to leave the compartment, Lucy gave me questioning look. I promised her that I would be back in a minute and went off to get dressed.

As soon as I re-entered the compartment, robes billowing, I was met with a pleasant surprise. When she caught sight of me Lucy beamed. She looked much better. She looked more comfortable. She was starting to look as though she belonged.

X

When we entered the chamber off the Entrance Hall, the Professor introduced himself. I don't remember much of what he said, but there was one particular line which stuck in my mind.

'While you are here your House will be your family.'

_But your family might not be in your House. _

As I stood in line with the others I hoped and prayed like never before. I almost didn't hear Lily's name being called. By the time I realised, she was already sitting on the stool wearing the Hat. It took quite some time but in the end she was pronounced a Ravenclaw, as we all knew she would be.

I did not spare a moment's thought for her. She would do just fine on her own.

When my name was called, I lurched forward and stood separate from the crowd for a moment before making my way over to the stool. As I plonked myself down, I tried my best to keep my breathing even. For a moment, it was all I could hear, as silence filled the Hall. However all too soon I could hear the little voice in my ear.

'Well now, where shall I put you?'

As soon as he spoke, I felt the panic setting in. I did not have a clue how I was going to make sure that we were Sorted into the same house. Then it hit me. When there was something we did not understand, Mum would always say to ask. _Ask and your prayers shall be answered. _

_Please. _

'Hmmm?'

Once I started, it felt a little easier. _Would you mind putting my cousin and me in the same House? She is the one with the mousy hair. _

'Why would I want to that?'

_I asked you, because it would mean a lot to both of us. _

'You're well aware of what you'd be giving up? You will only find glory and honour in the correct House.'

There was a pause, I could feel my heart racing._ I don't care about that, but I care about her. Please? No one has to know! _

'Tell me, what is she like, this cousin?'

_She's a good person. She deserves to have something nice done for her for a change. _

'You have great nerve Mr. Weasley, to ask this of me. You do not give up easily. You know, I've had lots of people asking me for the exact same thing over the years. Very few of them ever remember to use the word please. As you wish, your cousin will not know what you have done. But it must be known that you are a true HUFFLEPUFF!'

I breathed a sigh of relief. Trembling, I handed the Hat to my cousin. I had only taken about a step when I heard the Hat scream the name of my House once again. _It must have barely touched her head._ I waited a minute and then we walked down together. I felt as though I was walking on air. A weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

As we sat side by side on the bench she gave my fingers a squeeze. Then, she caught sight of Freddy. He was beaming and clapping along with the rest. She looked straight at him and returned his grin. Not only that, but she took her hand from mine and gave him a thumbs up.

_It was all good. _

X

I helped Lucy that day, because I thought it was the right thing to do.

The Sorting Hat placed me in Hufflepuff that day because it thought it was the right thing to do.

Over time, we both realised it was where we belonged.


End file.
